Alison Bechdel and Samuel D. Hunter Named 2014 MacArthur Fellows | Playbill

News Alison Bechdel and Samuel D. Hunter Named 2014 MacArthur Fellows Alison Bechdel, author of the graphic novel "Fun Home," and playwright Samuel D. Hunter have been named recipients of the 2014 MacArthur Fellowship.

A cartoonist and graphic memoirist, Bechdel wrote "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic," which was adapted into a musical by Tony nominees Jeanine Tesori (music) and Lisa Kron (book and lyrics). The musical, which portrays Bechdel's childhood in a small Pennsylvania town and her relationship with her father, a high school English teacher and funeral home director, played an extended run Off-Broadway at the Public Theater and will transfer to Broadway in 2015. Bechdel penned the comic strip "Dykes to Watch Out For" from 1983 to 2008. Her work has also appeared in Slate, the New York Times Book Review, McSweeney’s, Granta and The New Yorker.

Hunter's plays include The Whale, The Few, A Bright New Boise, A Permanent Image and Jack’s Precious Moment. His play Pocatello will receive its world premiere Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in November. He is a resident playwright at New Dramatists, an ensemble playwright at Victory Gardens, and a member of Partial Comfort Productions. Read Playbill.com's interview with Hunter here.

The fellowship, which comes with a stipend of $625,000 paid in quarterly installments over five years, awards unrestricted fellowships to individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits as well as a capacity for self-direction.

"Those who think creativity is dying should examine the life’s work of these extraordinary innovators who work in diverse fields and in different ways to improve our lives and better our world," Cecilia Conrad, vice president of MacArthur Fellows Program, said in a statement. "Together, they expand our view of what is possible, and they inspire us to apply our own talents and imagination."

2014 Fellows also include Steve Coleman, Terrance Hayes, Rick Lowe and Khaled Mattawa, among others. A complete lists of Fellows and more information can be found by visiting macfound.org.

 
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